PCSD arrests woman with ties to man killed by SWAT team

Father, daughters face drug trafficking charges

A woman with ties to a Marine veteran who was fatally shot in May by Pima Regional SWAT officers was arrested Thursday with two others with more than $30,000 in cash, the Pima County Sheriff's Department said.

Jose Rafael Celaya, 58, and his daughters Denise Ruiz, 32, and Pauline Guerena, 31, were arrested following a traffic stop at Oklahoma Street and Camino Verde on two vehicles seen leaving the 6200 block of West Oklahoma Street, PCSD spokeswoman Deputy Dawn Barkman said.

Pauline Guerena is the sister-in-law of Jose Guerena, who was killed May 5 when he was shot 60 times by SWAT officers who were serving a search warrant at his home in the 7100 block of South Redwater Drive. Officers fired a total of 71 shots in the incident.

Deputies found more than $30,000 in cash in one of the vehicles, Barkman said.

The home where the three live had been under surveillance in an investigation of suspected drug trafficking and arrest warrants had been issued for the three, Barkman said.

The investigation began in 2009, Barkman said.

Detectives searched the Oklahoma Street home Thursday and found cash and other evidence Barkman said is related to drug trafficking.

Celaya, Guerena and Ruiz were booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Center on Thursday. Each has been charged with illegally conducting a criminal enterprise, conspiracy to commit possession of marijuana for sale, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Thanks for reading TucsonSentinel.com. Tell your friends to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Guerena faces an additional charge of fraudulent scheme and artifice and Ruiz has an additional charge of facilitation of possession of marijuana for sale.

Yes!

I want to help TucsonSentinel.com offer a real news alternative!

We're committed to making quality news accessible; we'll never set up a paywall or charge for our site. But we rely on your support to bring you independent news without the spin. Use our convenient PayPal/credit card donation form below or contact us at donate@tucsonsentinel.com today.